Eight Arrested at RTW Prostest Agree to Plea Deal

MARQUETTE, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – The eight people who were arrested in December during protests at the state Capitol over right to work legislation have agreed to a plea deal that will allow them to avoid jail time.

The six men and two women, all from southeast Michigan, plead guilty late Friday in District Court in Lansing to a misdemeanor charge of attempted resisting and obstructing a police officer. The charge carries up to a year in jail. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for September.

Under the plea agreement with Ingham County prosecutors, if they comply with all conditions of their bonds, the charge will be further reduced to disorderly conduct, a 90-day misdemeanor.

Each had faced up to two years in prison on a felony resisting and obstructing charge. The eight were arrested and sprayed with a “chemical agent” by State Police troopers on December 6, as they attempted to rush the Senate chamber on the second floor of the Capitol building.

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